How can I protect my PC against Identity Theft?
• Don’t expose yourself. Never use a public computer or wireless “hot spot” for financial transactions. 
• Beef up your security. If you use Internet Explorer, Microsoft recommends cranking the security setting on your Internet browser up to “high” (you’ll find it under the Tools menu; click on Internet Options and look for the security tab, then select Internet Zone).
• Use a credit card for online purchases. Technically, debit cards with the Visa or MasterCard logo offer you the same no-liability coverage for fraud that credit cards give you, but you have to wait a few days for the bank to restore the money to your account. Better to have a middleman like a credit card company between a thief and your checking account.
• Don’t click. You probably know by now not to open spam e-mails or download attachments from unknown sources. But e-mail links in instant messages, Web message boards and Internet relay chats (IRC) also can be malicious. If a financial institution sends you an e-mail relating to an “urgent problem” or other matter pertaining to your account, use the phone number printed on your statement to respond.
• Block pop-ups. Besides being incredibly annoying, pop-ups can be used to install hackers’ software on your computer. Many Internet service providers now have pop-up software built in, or you can get blocking software from sites such as http://toolbar.google.com or others.
• Monitor, monitor, monitor. You need to take a careful look at your bank and bill-pay transactions. Don’t assume that odd $40 electronic transfer or check is a payment you just forgot about; it could be a scammer probing to see if the fraud will go unnoticed. With bill payment systems, review your payment history as well as your payee list to make sure there aren’t any unauthorized transactions. The sooner you report the theft the better; after 60 days, the bank may be under no legal obligation to provide a refund.
• Stay up to date. Run Windows Update to keep current on the latest security patches.
• Inject some variety. Don’t use the same user ID and passwords at different financial institutions. If you’re asked to create a security question and answer, don’t use one that’s relatively easy to discover, such as mother’s maiden name.
• Inoculate yourself. Keep your virus software up-to-date and run frequent scans to check for problems.